Ellington at Newport

Gorgeous record, full of lively tracks that are some of the best in class.

Really like this but can't put my finger on exactly why, it's just got a real big vibe to it, you can tell everyone's just firing on all cylinders, there's craaazy energy at the end that I find infectious. Will probably return to this again in the future

Still hate jazz but this was tolerable at times. Liked the first song. Would never choose to play this again though most likely.

not my thing

This album challenge has confirmed for me that I really enjoy old-school, more traditional/classic instrumental jazz, but that the newer stuff (and anything with vocals) is just not for me.

The swing numbers are glorious, and ‘Jeep’s Blues’ is a swaggering, sultry-but-muscular bit of blues that makes the live setting feel like the whole point. By the time ‘Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue’ gets going, with a sax solo that just. Keeps. Going. and a crowd roaring like it’s a cup final, you can practically hear people dancing in the aisles. Sometimes a little self indulgent, but corrr Blimey this was a whole lotta immersive 50s fun! So-nearly-5 stars.

Well he’s called duke for a reason

I couldn’t finish it. Not my vibe at all. Sounds like a fun occasion and no doubting the talent on show but not what I look for in an album. Not a genre I particularly know or understand, and a live album of it is not for me.

fine. will add this to my rotation of jazz. but can’t have more than 3 stars coz i only listen to jazz when i don’t want the music to distract me and this was no exception

**This app brings you to a 2 hour album, the original is only 5 songs** I've always had a difficult time rating jazz albums. I can appreciate the musicianship, but sometimes it's hard to separate that appreciation from how much I'm actually enjoying the music. Well, Duke Ellington just made that problem disappear. Big band has always been my favorite style of jazz, and this album is everything I love about it. The swinging rhythms, explosive horns, incredible arrangements, and the way the musicians play off one another are absolutely thrilling. There's so much happening, but nothing ever feels cluttered. Every instrument has its place, and when the entire orchestra comes together, the results are spectacular. “Festival Junction” grabbed me immediately. A perfect 10 right out of the gate. “Blues to Be There” slows things down with a wonderful bluesy atmosphere before “Newport Up” brings that infectious energy roaring back. “Jeep's Blues” is another masterpiece, and the nearly 15-minute “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue” is an extraordinary way to close the album. That extended saxophone solo is worth the price of admission alone. What really impressed me was how engaging the entire performance was. Instrumental music can sometimes fade into the background for me, but not here. I was completely invested in the arrangements, the solos, the dynamics, and the energy of the musicians. You can practically feel the excitement of the live performance coming through the speakers. Four of the five tracks earned perfect 10s from me, and the fifth wasn't far behind. But more importantly, this is one of those rare albums where the complete listening experience is even greater than the individual songs. I've heard plenty of excellent jazz throughout my 1001 Albums journey, but this is my favorite so far. It's a reminder that great music doesn't need lyrics or a conventional song structure to be exciting, emotional, and completely captivating. An absolute masterpiece and an easy addition to my perfect albums list. 10/10 — 5 stars.

Ellington’s capacity to create music is explendid. Great live album but i found it a bit extense for what im used to it.

Que sea en vivo le resta muchos puntos.

Big band, big energy, big crowd, big tunes, big enjoyment. Not really a moment to fault in the original release set, and it’s more than good enough to make you want to find the complete set and fully soak in it. I can see why they call this guy Sir Duke honestly.

Far too long, and too much chatty filler. I scattered my listen. I mean, it’s jazz isn’t it - no real surprises.

A real struggle to rate here. There are definitely elements I like here, especially at the big band end of the spectrum. But then the piano player remembers he's too cool to, you know, stick to the tune and the trumpet player decides to play the highest goddam note they can even if it's horrible to listen to. I would definitely _not_ listen to _this_ album again but I might give Duke Ellington another shot.

Jazz. 2 stars though so that’s actually high praise.

Not all jazz is bad. I quite liked a lot of this in between moments where it grated.

- day in, day out is the first i'm really enjoying - fun to listen but jazz like this gives me anxiety sometimes

Disc 1: The 1st track isn't bad, but it isn't special, 3/5. The 2nd track is just people getting introduced, important, but not music, 1/5. The 3rd track is a 3/5, it's just a soundtrack, not bad, but not something I would go out of my way to listen to, like John Williams. The 4th track 1/5, not music just Ellington welcoming someone (it was so short it didn't meet the minimum time for last.fm to scrobble it). The 5th soundtrack is also a 3/5 not bad, but not something I would go out of my way to listen. The 6th track is a 1/5, no music, just talking, I feel like I'm going to end up giving this album at the end a 2/5 because it has some nice soundtracks, but a lot of it is just people talking and not in the way Daft Punk does it. The 7th track is a 3/5, nice soundtrack. The 8th track is a 1/5 just introducing the next part. The 9th track is a 3/5 like the rest it's a nice jazz soundtrack. The 10th track is a 1/5 just people getting introduced. The 11th track is a 3/5, not bad music. The 12th track is a 1/5, no music, just being introduced to the next song. The 13th track is a 3/5 track for reasons seen above. The 14th track is a 1/5 just people being introduced. The 15th track is a 3/5 track for reasons seen above. The 16th track is a 1/5 just people being introduced. The 17th track is interesting because instead of just music instrumentals, there's actual vocals, still a 3/5. The 18th track is a 1/5, it's just people talking. The 19th track is a 3/5 instrumental. The 20th track is a 1/5 just being announcements. Disc 2: The 1st track is a 1/5, continuing from disc 1, track 20. The 2nd track is a 3/5 instrumental. The 3rd track is a 3/5 instrumental. The 4th track is a 1/5, just calming crowds, and introducing new people. The 5th track is a 3/5 tack, it has vocals, but I'm not the interested in what was being sang. The 6th track is a 1/5, not a song, just stuff happening at the live performance. The 7th track is a 3/5 for reasons seen above. The 8th track is a 2/5, there's some music, but mostly just talking. The 9th track is a 2/5, mostly music, but there's some talking in the background at the start. The 10th track is a 1/5 because it's a reintroduction to Ellington. The 11th track is a 3/5 good instrumentals. The 12th track is a 1/5 just Ellington talking + crowd. The 13th track is a 3/5 good instrumentals. The 14th track is a 1/5 just Ellington talking to the crowd. The 15th track is a 3/5 good instrumentals. The 16th track is a 1/5 the track is called Ellington talking, but didn't hear much of that or any music. The 17th track is a 3/5 good instrumentals. The 18th track is a 3/5, good instrumentals, and not that different from the other tracks in the album. I would give this album a 2/5, it's not a bad album, but I didn't like the talking in between the songs, the happened way too often in my opinion.

This was really enjoyable - it's old and feels old but still slaps

absolutely incredible. i teared up. at first i was like "i love duke ellington, i wonder why they chose to highlight this specific live recording," but now i totally get it. the energy and vibrance of both the crowd and the musicians is a perfect encapsulation of why music is special. i loved hearing ellingtons little adlibs and encouragements and i loved hearing how excited the audience got. that saxophone is the closest thing to God 100000/10

This was so goddamn good, just kept listening to it over and over again. I love it when you look at an album track list and don't recognize any of the songs by name, but when you hear them, you're like "oh, shit, that's THIS song? I love this song!" Had that experience twice on this one.

479/1001 ### Duke Ellington - Ellington at Newport **Year:** 1956 **Heard before?** ❌ **Listen again?** ✅ **Own** ❌ **Rating:** ⭐⭐⭐ Not familiar with Hos work but this hit at the right moment and enjoyed the listen

VERY NICE

Yeah no, idk who thought that this should be an album, the entire show lmao.

ja

gaaf live album. maar iets teveel yappen en iets te lang

What a great album. The solo's by Johnny Hodges, Clark Terry, and Paul Gonsalves are amazing. Its a look at a time of high creativity in jazz of the mid 50's. Excellent to say the least!

I love live albums and this one is stellar!!! Big bad band jazz at it's finest. Now if the screeching of the trumpets was just a WEE bit less grating this would be a 5. But good god did that screaming trumpet scathe my eardrums.

The Intro too long

Only got 1/2 way through, I really don't like live albums. The music itself is good!

Najs med duke

I don’t listen to jazz much and basically never listen to big band music. Had a feeling about this one though, and it certainly delivered. The song intro’s taking 3-5 minutes gets a little old but I put this on during a 3 hour drive and never looked back.

Well, some people here say they don't like live recordings like this. The announcer talks too much, the poor quality, the crowd noise. WHAT - are you crazy???? Sure you have all of that - AND REAL LIVE MUSIC! People, on stage, performing their hearts out, and the crowd is eating it up! AS would I! It's like Frank Sinatra, Live at the Sands (one of THE best albums - ever) I always imagine myself being there. I'd be one yelling from my seat, encouraging that soloist! Oh boy, to be there and see this - live? Yes please!

I think we've come to understand that a live album is generally a cheap greatest hits album or easy way out of a contract. Sometimes it documents a moment or captures a story that far outsteps the music itself. Occasionally, it doesn't record the music so much as the reaction. The audience on the Sam Cooke live album certainly sold me on the music - not that there was any real doubt. But I don't know that I've caught up with the audience reaction to the Gonsalves solos here. Perhaps I never can. If we had audio or video of the riots at the Rites of Spring or Playboy of the Western World, would the reaction appear ridiculous? Whereas the myth of the reaction is very satisfying. Can you imagine people responding like that to art that is so well established now? It must have been phenomenal. Maybe it would be better never to have heard the audience reaction to the solos at Newport, when we cannot hear the solos as they did? As pleasant - indeed impressive - as all this music is, I hardly imagine dancing to it, let alone having my mind blown by it. While I can take or leave later jazz - I certainly find this easier to listen to some plenty of bebop - those later styles are obviously expressive modes, closer to post-60s rock music, while big band is completely a style from a distant time, with expectations and conventions that feel foreign and prissy. It simply cannot be wild. And certainly not as wild as the audience seem to think it is, nor so wild as they are themselves. 2.5 I went in determined not to like this; in bad faith. I was pleased at the confused bouts of applause in Blues to Be There - gotcha! the crowd wants it to be over! I even googled ‚Father Norman O‘Connor’ to see if there was historical abuse I could flag in the review. A turn did come with Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue - a title I had already noted as deserving of particular mockery - and I began to feel guilty. The crowd are obviously enjoying this. I quite liked it too. It is frivolous music - music as circus acrobatics and juggling - and I suspect more than half the enjoyment for the solitary listener is brought forth by the sporadic cheers and hoots of the crowd. But cheer and hoot they did and for good reason I dare say. I do wish I was their side of the speaker though - it sounds like there is something as good to see as there is to listen to. Maybe something better. 2.5/5

You've got to be joking me a 2 and a half hour album? But you know what, I quite enjoyed it. 50s Jazz instrumental that did hit for me mostly.

I'm a plebe who (sometimes) likes jazz with words. Not for me. 2.5

I'm not a jazz expert. This may be great, but I've enjoyed more some other jazz albums in this project. The extended version is simply too long. And I understand the interest to bring the vibes of the event, but I found the presentations and interruptions a bit annoying. Overall, I think this is ok as background (especially in its original version with no speeches). I'd say this is in the range of 3 stars for me.

When I was in high school, I thought I was a pretty big deal, musically speaking. I missed the first month of my senior year, and when I came back to school, the jazz band had been doing a unit of Duke and Basie, and we had to take a test, which was listening to various pieces and determining if they were performed by Duke or Basie. I had missed all of the practice leading up to that point, but I didn't think it mattered, since I was so obviously beyond all of my classmates. I ended up getting every single answer wrong. Anyway, glad this album helped me relive that, and always glad to listen to some big band jazz for a couple hours. Perfect album.

Side 1 was upbeat and almost made me come around on ass smacking jazz, but side 2 smacked my ass back into not really liking it. I'm sure people in the moment loved it, I'm not at that moment. Two stars

Live recording album but the jazz bits were good. Not a fan of the long improvisations though. They could've cut out all the talking. 3/5

Music to groove to. The link sends you to the wrong album it seems, it's actually like 50 mins long. Tis a good 50 mins

When Jazz was beautiful and didn't need an explanation. 9/10

This was cool as a time capsule but would be hard to relisten with all the stopping and introducing players and the bonus tracks really feel jumbled

Big Band, for me, requires being at the show and the band performing a short, energetic set. Two stars for the original release, because I found it a pretty sedate set more suitable for listening to during dinner then enjoying as an album, but one star for the extended edition linked from this site - over two hours of introductions and jazz standards.

Incredible. Harry Connick SR. Lol

Good album, I wasnt in the mood for jazz so was a bit of a slog. But it has a soulful and whimsical vibe at times

A fairly standard, but enjoyable big band jazz performance. That is until "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue". The sax player goes all out in this one and the crowd responds accordingly. Even passively listening to it, this song stuck out because the crowd is going nuts during this song. The band feeds off of them and vice versa. Easily the highlight of the album. This apparently reignited Duke's career and became a massive hit out of nowhere. This album is most likely on this list as a thing of a historical record. I would most likely not listen to it much more in my life. But I enjoyed it and glad I learned about it.

Blandede følelser rundt all pratinga mellom låtene, blir et litt tregt album. Samtidig føles det litt som å være i rommet. Men andre lytting var bedre, når jeg hoppet over pratedelene. Best når soloene ikke blir for eksperimentelle. Åpenbart ekstremt dyktige musikere, men noen soloer blir litt slitsomme. Synes det starter litt svakt, men tar seg godt opp rundt "Sophisticated Lady" og holder nivået ut. Plate 2 er sterk og det hele ender med en 4er.

Knallbra (ser bort fra pratingen)

Musikken er egentlig 4-stjerner, men pratinga og gir for mange "hva er det jeg hører på"-øyebikk til at dette må trekkes ned. Rett gjennom digg å høre på, selv om noen soloer blir litt ekstreme.

Nice! (Selv om det er live). Bra jobbe- og spikkemusikk

6/10

Lo respeto bastante entretenido, con trompetas, demasiado agudas

THIS is what I mean when I say that I like 'some' jazz. This is a riotous masterclass of the genre.

Go Dukey! (Said like Eddie Griffin saying Deucey in Deuce Bigalow)

man this was just nice. should i go to newport? kai went last year and said it was the best thing ever and I believe her

The Gonsalves stretch on Diminuendo In Blue with the crowd (or is that the other guys in the band?) going nuts in the background took it from a 3 to a 4 for me. As many times as I've tried to like jazz, I just have to admit that it's not really for me. But if I had to listen to jazz and nothing else, it'd be something like this.

This feels historical, like visiting a museum. Vitally though, it's a fun museum. There's a lot here, highly recommended as on in the background while you get chores done music.

The linked "complete" version of this album feels excessive and overlong but the best cuts, like Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue are absolutely smoking hot. It finally offers a style of jazz I can really engage with, full of excitement, rhythm and ljoy.

It's good jazz but I can only listen to so much jazz at once. I'm sorry, Duke.

A fun, live, classic jazz album.

Sometimes I found myself cheering along with the crowd, while at other times I was getting bored. And once again, another live album on this list. I enjoyed it overall, but I don't see myself coming back to it.

Day 410 I’m sure this is excellent but I just do not enjoy jazz in the slightest, took me 2 days to get through. Won’t be listening again.

Cool Jazz

It’s crazy people were playing stuff like this before Ryan Gosling invented it Nah in all seriousness this sounds fucking awesome and the way Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue builds into the monster it becomes is incredible. From what i hear there’s a concerning lack of jazz on this list and that’s really a shame.

good album

First – on the technical side. The streaming services' tracklists for this album seem to be a big mess. Particularly, the newer extended edition having a length of more than two hours frightened the shit out of me at first. So I listened to EaN in the original LP version consisting of five tracks, starting from "Festival Junction". It seems like there are generally two versions: the one with those lenghtly tracks split into small ones, and the one I mentioned. Now about the album. Initially, I felt like this was the kind of jazz provoking nearly zero emotion. I was neutral about the first track. "Blues To Be There" was great and way more memorable than the rest; perhaps it is just because I like blues more than jazz. Then it felt like the first half of every consequent track was "okay" but nothing special. However, in "Jeep's Blues" and "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", there were elements making them effectively enjoyable. In the former, I felt it was that delicacy that is noticeable in "Blues To Be There" (its primary feature which makes it a masterpiece). In the latter, I liked the general rhythm making it almost dance music, plus all the noise from the people around. The fact that this is a live record is rather a plus. So it is undoubtedly a technically great record, kind of not in my taste, but this is a jazz album that I can say I mostly enjoyed, so it's a well-deserved B.

The music is great and captivating. This is the kind of jazz I like. That said, I always have a bit of a hard time with live recordings. But on this album, it works really well with the music. What I don’t like at all, though, are the spoken interludes that are also included on the album. Although the album is titled “Complete,” less really would have been more here. Despite the great music, I probably won’t listen to this album in its entirety again. 3/5

Probably the best classic jazz album I've heard so far in my opinion! This is a high 4

Must be Jazz Season

I've heard the name Duke Ellington, but don't know any of his music. I assume I may have heard some of his stuff but only as background music where I'm not aware of who the artist is. On Spotify this has 38 tracks, but on Wikipedia it says the original LP only had 5. I'm gonna rate this based on those 5 tracks. After listening to this it seemed like the kind of music I remember my parents listening to when they did swing dancing. It's funny, I happened to be listening to this while in the car with my son - who is 26. His immediate reaction was "This sounds like the Incredibles". I laughed because he was spot on - the Incredibles (animated movie from 2004) used swing music in its soundtrack. Amazing he made that connection because he was only 4 when it came out. But there were sequels and I'm sure he's watched it many times on cable and stuff like that. Surprisingly, I did not end up recognizing any of this just from being alive for 60+ years - which I thought I might. Anyway, after listening 3 times I do kinda like it. I ended up clicking like on all 5 original tracks. I may not be a jazz/swing music guy, but these would be fun to hear pop up on my playlists every now and then. Liked songs on Spotify: 5/5 Rating: 5/5

I was already so annoyed at the second track.

Album : 31/1089 Songs known going in : 0 Favourite song : Nothing specific Rating : Notes : listened to this while revising. I obviously automatically feel like im better than everyone now. Lovely for the background but its just not my genre

this record sits pretty much right in between my preferred soft jazz and harder jazz sounds. it's fine, but only gets as much as that from me.

jazzy

I'm not sure what I'm reviewing? The original, faked recording from Columbia or the 1999 remaster? This album is interesting from the perspective of the history of modern music and certainly contains some good jazz, but it isn't an album I'd throw on if I was interested in listening to jazz.

Beautiful playing and amazing improvisation on this album. Very well recorded considering the time period.

Man I love jazz

Pretty fun listen.

This is a bit of fun if you’re into this kind of thing, which I am.

Audio quality is a bit off on some parts, but imagine being so good that Stevie writes Sir Duke as a tribute to you

OK for background

1 ich mag einfach keinen Jazz...

excellent. loved it

This was some really nice fun jazz. Seemed pretty ahead of its time. Definitely some fun fast paced stuff going on, mixed in with some psychedelic and some slow stuff. I loved the live sound and everything that it captured.

Classic Jazz. I can picture myself in a smoked filled club listening to this enjoyed

Not bad, but nothing I’d listen to ever again.

A classic

Album # 281 Duke Ellington: Ellington at Newport Ok so I will admit to not being a big jazz fan, and of the jazz music that I do enjoy, it tends to lean more bop than big band; but to me, this album just seemed unremarkable. It is pleasant, but rarely had moments that left me in awe. It wasn’t until after I heard the album that I realized I committed the sin of listening to the original release which was apparently watered down in the studio, and it was actually the 2 and a half hour re-release that was the genre staple. Well, to be honest, I don’t feel like committing that time right now to listen to that, but I’ll take everyone's word that it is amazing; for now, I can only rate what I’ve heard. I did hear that the audience ends up rioting during the live performance, and to be honest, I’m surprised that doesn’t happen more with jazz music. I don’t know how it got the reputation as easy listening because some of this shit sounds insane. Best Songs: Festival Junction, Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue, Newport Up Worst Song: Jeep’s Blues Score out of 10: 6

Very pleasant listening experience. I like it.

Not a style of music I like and this album didn't convince me to change my mind.

This is one of my new favorite albums for the fact that half of it is Duke Ellington playing fantastically and the other half is making sure the crowd doesn't get too crazy. 1.) The Star-Spangled Banner: Interesting way to start an album. Reminds me of band class, but they are better. 2.) Father Norman O'Connor Introduces Duke & the Orchestra / Duke Introduces Tune & Anderson, Jackson & Procope: What a Cosmopolitan group. 3.) Black and Tan Fantasy: Great starting piece. Each solo between was smooth. Fantastic growl on the trumpet. 4.) Duke Introduces Cook & Tune: Apt name 5.) Tea for Two: Always a sucker for a trumpet solo. Interesting mixing to have the woodwinds in the background to almost a hum. 6.) Duke & Band Leave Stage / Father Norman Talks About The Festival: O boy, we got a yapper. 7.) Take the 'A' Train: A classic, can't go wrong. 8.) Duke Announces Strayhorn's A Train & Nance / Duke Introduces Festival Suite, Part I & Hamilton: I think he thought of the name beforehand. 9.) Part I - Festival Junction: The saxophones and trumpets have great synchronicity. Like the clarinet scales at the beginning. Would've been cool if they incorporated the arpeggios throughout the song. That trumpet run at the end was pretty impressive, but take it easy. 10.) Duke Announces Soloists; Introduces Part II: He does it again. 11.) Part II - Blues to Be There: Felt like some of Duke's adlibs were clashing with the band in the beginning, especially the trills. I liked the clarinet solo with the band's decrescendo in the middle. 12.) Duke Announces Nance & Procope; Introduces Part III: He's on a streak of introducing these songs. 13.) Part III - Newport Up: Here for the tempo change. Nice almost call and response with the trumpet, saxophone, and clarinet near the end. Wish Duke would get more into it than provide backing piano. Probably my favorite of the three pieces though. 14.) Duke Announces Hamilton, Gonsalves & Terry / Duke Introduces Carney & Tune: Honestly, when I decided to review each song, wasn't expecting this many introductions in an album. 15.) Sophisticated Lady: Nice love tune. Could see it being a track in a 1950s movie or a Tennessee Williams adapted movie. 16.) Duke Announces Grissom & Tune: There are two things this man can do like no other: play music and announce. 17.) Day In, Day Out: Interesting way they mic'd the singer. Sounds like he's singing from the backstage. Wasn't expecting the scatting. Cool that they used the trumpet to emphasize the heart-pounding in the song. 18.) Duke Introduces Tune(s) and Paul Gonsalves Interludes: Uh oh, whoever wrote this track title just found a thesaurus. 19.) Diminuendo and Crescendo In Blue: Good song. The hand clapping a quarter of the way is throwing me off. Like the swing of this song. 20.) Announcements, Pandemonium: Thrashing at Jazzfest. 21.) Duke Introduces Johnny Hodges: They got The Hedgehog on this joint?! 22.) I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good): Great saxophone leadinng on this one with Duke supporting. 23.) Jeep's Blues: No intro?! If crusing in a Jeep felt like this, I would consider getting one. 24.) Duke Calms Crowd; Introduces Nance & Tune: Great name for a painting. 25.) Tulip or Turnip: Should've been on the Fallout radio. Good song but love how the audience is going insane over this song. 26.) Riot Prevention: Damn, they don't play around at the Newport Jazzfest. Duke Ellington is the original Motorhead. 27.) Skin Deep Okay, the drums do go hard on this one. The song was essentially a 9-minute drum solo, and it was well justified. 28.) Mood Indigo Criminal to limit Mood Indigo to just over a minute but honestly a good outro for a concert. 29.) Studio Concert (Excerpts): Good slow & lurking song. Nice ending. I'm assuming this is a different recording of the previous songs, so I will omit the following reviews: 30.) Father Norman O'Connor Introduces Duke Ellington / Duke Introduces New Work, Part I & Hamilton: 31.) Part I - Festival Junction 32.) Duke Announces Soloists; Introduces Part II 33.) Part II - Blues To Be There 34.) Duke Announces Nance & Procope; Introduces Part III 35.) Part III - Newport Up 36.) Duke Announces Hamilton, Gonsalves & Terry / Pause / Duke Introduces Johnny Hodges 37.) I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) 38.) Jeep's Blues

Pas pour moi

Overall: 8/10 This is a very long live album of a genre that I still haven't really sunk my teeth into beyond the albums I've listened to for this project, but I found it to be pretty engaging and interesting throughout. The blending of instrument was so beautiful at times and I was often closing my eyes to just let the beauty of it all wash over me. It's not something I'll come back to often but I totally get why this could be loved by so many. Fav Song: Jeep's Blues

Swanky. 4.5/5.0

great listen

There's some really good performance in there, but it doesn't really flow or work as an album IMO. It's a very good document of a concert and a couple of the solos gave me real stank face, but I couldn't get through the whole thing. I guess if you're trying to get someone to understand Duke Ellington it's probably a good starting point, but it's not a great 'Album', although I get the art form has evolved significantly since this was recorded

Wish I was there!!

Loved hearing something I’d never listen to and the enthusiasm of the crowd, but jazz isn’t my thing.